Fresh Arts Coalition and Spacetaker Get Hitched

After a period of time, merging Fresh Arts Coalition and Spacetaker became a no-brainer, says Jenni Rebecca Stephenson, executive director of what is now known as Fresh Arts.

On Tuesday, Fresh Arts Coalition (founded in 2002) and Spacetaker (birthed in 2003) announced that they have started the several-month process of combining the two nonprofits into one.

"Over the years, we've been cheerleaders for each other and shared a passion for the Houston arts community. Many of our friends in the arts community have said that Fresh Arts Coalition and Spacetaker are a perfect match and we've agreed," says Stephenson, Spacetaker's executive director since December 2009.

Stephenson continues, "It became clearer each year that we could and should combine our programs and services to better serve our members, donors and the vast network of artists and arts organizations across Houston."

The unanimous decision to sync operations was made by board members of each organization. Harry McMahan, vice president of business development at Wells Fargo, will leap from Spacetaker board member to Fresh Arts board president.

"The core programs and services that Spacetaker fans and members have come to rely upon won't change," explained Stephenson when Art Attack asked what might change with this new super nonprofit, "and the 'new' Fresh Arts will continue to provide marketing services to current Fresh Arts Coalition members."